Supplemental General Security & Resilience Highlights – February 29, 2024

The following posts are useful for general awareness of current physical security threats, natural disaster resilience, preparedness resources, mitigation guidance, and other security-related news or updates. These resources have been curated by the WaterISAC analyst team as items of broad relevance and benefit that do not need supplemental analysis at this time.

Natural Hazards/Climate Change

• ‘Life-threatening’ blizzard to snarl California mountain travel with 10-plus feet of snow, 100-mph winds – Fox Weather
• A wildfire scorching the Texas Panhandle has grown to the largest in state history – AP
• Texas wildfires forces shutdown at nuclear weapon facility. Here is what we know – AP
• Why did the Texas Panhandle fires grow so fast? – AP
• Magnitude 4.9 earthquake shakes Idaho, but no injuries reported – AP
• Historic winter heat wave smashes records in central U.S., fuels tornadoes – Washington Post
• These numbers capture the wild weather hitting much of the US this week – AP
• Air Pollution Hides Increases in Rainfall – Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• We can’t say yet if grid-breaking thunderstorms are getting worse – but we shouldn’t wait to find out – The Conversation
• New study highlights rewilding’s role in tackling flood and drought challenges – Smart Water Magazine
• Snow Droughts are not Solely Driven by Abnormal Snowfall and Temperature – Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Operational Resilience

• Preparing for Extreme Weather Events – DHS
• Would you drink recycled water? – The Conversation
• One Year After Train Derailment, East Palestine Wastewater Disposal Plan Under Fire – Water Online 
• Feature Article: S&T Tests Cutting-Edge Counter-Drone Technology – DHS
• Nation-State Threats – Preparing at All Levels – Domestic Preparedness
• Threats to America’s Critical Infrastructure Are Now a Terrifying Reality – RAND

Extremism/Terrorism

• Exclusive: Extremism is US voters’ greatest worry, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds – Reuters
• 3 men snared in right-wing extremism probe charged in London court with prepping for terrorism – AP
• TikTok, gun range video led FBI to Palestinian man accused of gun crimes, plot against Houston Jews – Houston Chronicle
• POV: Wearable Cameras and the Gamification of Lone-Actor Terrorist Violence – Global Network on Extremism and Technology